Irma la Douce

1963

2h 27m

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

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Romance

Comedy

When a naive policeman falls in love with a prostitute, he doesn’t want her seeing other men and creates an alter ego who’s to be her only customer.

Directors

Billy Wilder

Writers

Billy Wilder(screenplay by)

I. A. L. Diamond(screenplay by)

Alexandre Breffort(author by)

Stars

Shirley MacLaine

Jack Lemmon

Lou Jacobi

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Watch Irma la Douce Official Trailer #1 - Jack Lemmon Movie (1963) HD

Top cast

Irma La Douce

Nestor Patou

Moustache

Hippolyte

Inspector Lefevre

Lolita

Amazon Annie

Kiki

Andre

Concierge

Police Sergeant

Jojo

Casablanca Charlie

Zebra Twin

Zebra Twin

Suzette Wong

Customer #1

Texan Customer

Directors

Billy Wilder

Writers

Billy Wilder(screenplay by)

I. A. L. Diamond(screenplay by)

Alexandre Breffort(author by)

All cast & crew

Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

One of Wilder's most divisive film's amongst his fans. Adapted from Alexandre Breffort's stage musical, Irma la Douce in film form turns into something of a roller-coaster ride. Even allowing for the absence of the songs (a major gripe with purists), the film is far too bloated to really achieve the heights of being a great comedy classic. If it had been condensed to perhaps a 100 minute film then I think it could have achieved the splendour that some sequences hint at. As it is though, there is still much to enjoy, and nobody should be under the impression that this film isn't funny, because it is, but just how long can you stretch the joke Mr Wilder? I think the chief thing that sticks out is just how did Wilder get such an overtly sexual farce past the censors? He pushes the boundary more than usual with this one, and I honestly would be surprised if he himself wasn't surprised to get away with so much cheeky sexual shenanigans. The sets are fabulous from Alexandre Trauner, and Andre Previn's score is perfect and in tune with the Parisian heart of the film, but the lead actors here are oddly not firing on all cylinders. Jack Lemmon's hopeless romantic Nestor is the core humour character. A character who becomes jealous of himself! His transformation into an English fop is hilarious at first, but on, and on, and on it goes till the joke becomes a heavy weight on the film's shoulders. Lemmon is fine, he's just the victim of over ambition from Wilder. Shirley MacLaine is the title character and it doesn't quite come off, sure she gives it gusto and she looks fabulous (as always), but the role cried out for a more cosmopolitan actress, and this again comes down to Wilder losing site of things with this particular project. It's a safe recommend for Lemmon fans, but for Wilder worshippers such as me the problems are evident in spite the film being his highest grossing film of the decade. A cautionary 7/10.

John Chard02 Jul, 2019